Cork city pensioners face bin charges

PENSIONERS in Cork city whose sole income is the state pension will face bin charges for the first time.

Cork city pensioners face bin charges

And households which benefit from the city council’s bin collection waiver scheme are also facing, the first time, a €50 charge.

No sports capital grants will be dished out next year — cutting off a vital funding stream for the city’s sporting clubs.

However, commercial rates are likely to remain unchanged for the second year in a row, despite calls from business leaders for a reduction.

While Cork Chamber called for 5% of the collected rates to be ring-fenced for a stimulus package, city officials look set to set aside 1% of the money to help promote and market the city.

The proposals are among dozens up for discussion ahead of the city council’s budget meeting on December 20.

Several behind-closed-doors pre-budget meetings between city officials and city councillors have taken place in recent days, during which the stark financial situation facing the council has been laid bare.

City manager Tim Lucey said he is trying to maintain the current levels of services with less funding. He told councillors that pensioners, whose sole income is the state pension and who have never had to pay the €300 bin collection standing charge, may have to pay for their bin tags next year.

The tags cost €3 for small bins and €6 for big bins. Most pensioners have the smaller bins, which if put out for collection every fortnight, would cost €78 a year.

Mr Lucey also told councillors that all non-pension waivered customers — like unemployed people and people on disability — who have never had to pay the standing charge, could be asked to pay €50 for bin collections next year. He has set up a working group to examine the future of the city’s refuse collection service.

Selling it to a private waste contractor or contracting it out will be among the options considered.

The city’s director of environment Gerry O’Beirne has been asked to complete a report into the matter by springtime.

Socialist Party Cllr Mick Barry said the proposed “attacks on the waiver system” would hit thousands of the poorest households in the city very hard.

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